ORION EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH CHURCH PROFILE

Orion is a small community located in the county of 40 Mile, 76km from , 64km from Cypress Hills park and 52km from the American Border. It is this beautiful, wide-open country that is home to a diverse, although somewhat sparse, population of ranchers, farmers, and oil/gas field workers with a hard work ethic and a “help your neighbor” attitude.

The Evangelical Free Church began in the small of in July of 1957 with a membership of 22. Before this a small Baptist church held services in the community with students coming out from the larger towns to lead services and Sunday School. It was from this congregation that the Etzikom EFC was formed. The first pastor called to Etzikom was Don Smith who served from 1957-1963. In the next community of Orion, a Lutheran church which held services in a small older building, decided to build a church in a neighboring community of . A group of families in the Orion/Manyberries area still felt a need for a church in Orion, so approached Etzikom and asked if they could start an evangelical church in Orion and share one pastor. An empty school building in Orion was purchased and renovated and the Orion Evangelical Free Church opened its doors in 1959.

Since that time there have been five pastors who have served the EFC of Etzikom/Orion, and just Orion as of 2016: • Don Smith 1957-1963 • Ken Strom 1963-1967 • Lloyd Hansen 1967-1969 • Dave Shauf 1969-2004 • George Mills 2004-2016

The hamlet of Orion, with a population of 6, serves a large farming community and has a CO-OP, hardware store, and post office. It is close to larger communities: Manyberries to the east (population approximately 85) and Foremost to the west (population approximately 400). Despite this, the church in Orion is the only active church in the Manyberries, Etzikom and Orion area and serves a radius of approximately 50km.

In 2010 the congregation and community got together and built a new church building in Orion that seats 150 in the sanctuary, has a large kitchen, a great room, three classrooms, nursery, library, a large stage, and sound and video system. This church has celebrated weddings and anniversaries and has hosted an annual Day fireworks event, movie nights, Christmas concerts and singing groups.

The Orion church has on average 35-45 people attending a Sunday morning service (26 in the 50+ age group and about 12 or 14 in the 25-50 age group of the regular attendees); 6-10 for a mid- week prayer meeting/Bible study; and almost 20 for a mid-week evening Sunday school/ Alpha course. There is also a Young Couples group that has just started meeting once a month with 4-6 couples attending. There is an active WMC (Women’s Ministry of Canada) and a family camp held each summer in nearby Elkwater Lake.

The Orion membership is at 31, with 11 new members joining in October and November of 2016. Many of the members have been attending this church for over 10 years. We have a strong commitment to mission, supporting more than eight missionary couples and have even sent some of our congregation on a mission trip to Mexico in 2015.

The church in Orion is debt-free and owns a parsonage in nearby Etzikom. This home was built in 1975 and is a 4-bedroom, 2 ½ bath house with a developed basement, A/C, new windows and upgraded flooring, and a recently renovated upstairs bathroom. The parsonage lot also has a detached two-car garage. PASTOR PROFILE

Upon completion of a congregational survey, the following characteristics were outlined as important for a new pastor to our community:

• To be strong and faithful in encouraging the church in prayer. • To be able to teach the Bible in an effective and understandable way. • To be in and a part of the community and to reach those not in the church. • To have worship skills and passion for it. • We would like to see at the very least a Bible school education. • Experience in church work is an asset but not necessary, as well as an interest in children’s ministry and youth work in the future. • Married would be preferred but also not a necessity. • It is also desirable that applicants believe and accept the doctrinal statement of the Evangelical Free Church of Canada.

Please send resumes to: Mel Reimer RR#1 Etzikom, AB T0K 0W0 [email protected] 403-868-2004